Primeval wooden tent shaped home brings inhabitants closer to forest

Designed for portability and favoured for early nomadic lifestyles, the tent is one of humanity's first shelters in the wild, evoking our long interdependence and connection with nature. Drawing upon the iconic, triangular form of the tipi, Japanese architect Hiroshi Nakamura and NAP studio created this charming forest home as a weekend home for a nature-loving and organic-farming couple in quiet rural Nasu district of Tochigi prefecture.

The sloping land was left undisturbed as much as possible, says the architect on Dezeen: "We avoided large-scale construction and the majority of felling, and built the rooms on the few remaining flat surface of the sloping ground, as if sewing them together." The facades are raised slightly up off the ground so that there is a base reveal, to prevent snow, moisture and creepy-crawlies from invading the building.

Therefore, we eliminated unnecessary space. First, we made sitting and lying spaces along the walls, and cut down the upper space diagonally to make the ceiling lower based on the way people move. This resulted in a tent shaped-house with only one third the volumes.

The house's spatial concept was based on traditional spaces of the Jomon, a prehistoric people of Japan, ancient Africans and Mongolians -- and is intended to encourage the inhabitants to sit in close interaction with each other.

The tallest point of the structures (26 feet) gathers warm air, which can be vented in hot weather via the triangular windows, or recirculated during cold weather using fans and vents. Underfloor heating operates in conjunction with the home's built-in fireplace, keeping in line with the universal tradition of a central hearth.

The Nasu Tipi doesn't have the portability of a traditional tent, but the timber-made, peaked spaces feel pure, primeval and intimate enough to bring its inhabitants closer to nature. More over at Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Co. and Dezeen.